Upon seeing Scottie Scheffler miss a 10-footer on the 72nd green at the Genesis Invitational, Rory McIlroy, who had finished his final round earlier that day, was asked by CBS reporter Amanda Renner if he had any advice for Scheffler, particularly on the greens.
It was a fair ask, as Scheffler was going to finish dead last that week in strokes gained/putting, a continuation of an issue that’s been lingering for some time.
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McIlroy, who joined the CBS telecast for a brief few minutes that Sunday, simply said “I’d love to see Scottie try a mallet.”
Oddly enough, Scheffler already had tried mallet putters before, though he’d consistently return to the traditional blade style. But after losing nearly five strokes on the greens at Riviera, it appears Scheffler may have taken McIlroy’s advice to heart.
On Tuesday at Bay Hill, where Scheffler won in 2022, Golf.com’s equipment writer Jonathan Wall captured a photo of Scheffler practising with the TaylorMade Spider Tour, very similar to the one McIlroy uses himself. Wall also noted that it was the only one currently in his bag, implying that the Spider Tour is what he will likely be rolling with this week:
Scottie Scheffler might be giving it another go with @TaylorMadeGolf Spider Tour. Only one in the bag this morning. pic.twitter.com/fdCQCtJzpQ
— Jonathan Wall (@jonathanrwall) March 5, 2024
This past August, Scheffler tested a number of Spider putters at the FedEx St Jude Championship, ultimately putting one in play that week. He used it again at the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields. He lost three and two strokes, respectively, on the greens in each of those events.
Scheffler then returned to the blade at the Tour Championship, losing 5.5 strokes on the greens. He kept the blade in play for the Ryder Cup in Rome, where he went 0-2-2 for the week.
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As of now, Scheffler ranks 144th out of 186 players on the PGA Tour in SG/putting. Good news is he returns to a place he’s very familiar with this week in Bay Hill, where he gained 4.3 strokes putting in his victory back in 2022. Last year, he finished fourth, losing only one stroke on the greens, then he went on to win the Players Championship the following week.
